Light Up the Darkness
by fallenangel860
Summary: * I'm not great at writing summaries* Takes place after the events of The Blood of Olympus. Nico has decided to stay at camp half blood and is making friends and finding love? May extend beyond the events of The Hidden Oracle. May end it after the third chapter so things don't feel forced, but I'm working on a couple of other Solangelo stories too. Nico di Angelo x Will Solace
1. Chapter 1

Nico lounged on the steps in front of the infirmary. He leaned back, resting his head against the door frame, and closed his eyes. It had been a week since Will had finally given him a clean bill of health and stopped nagging him to take it easy and rest. He'd been glad to go back to sleeping in the Hades cabin (regardless of the awful decorating), if not the usual camp activities. Even so, he'd spent most of his free time at the infirmary helping out wherever he could. It was nice to feel wanted somewhere. Will was always happy to have a helping hand and Nico was always happy to help, even if his intentions weren't necessarily borne of altruism. So he'd wanted an excuse to see more of Will, there was nothing inherently wrong with that, was there? Without warning the warmth disappeared from Nico's face and he felt a shadow fall over him. He opened his eyes to see Will standing in the open doorway. The older camper smiled down at him, amused, and shut the door gently behind him. The butterflies in Nico's stomach resurrected once again. Will stepped around Nico and looked over the camp ground for a moment. The sounds of campers arguing and laughing floated on the gentle breeze. There was the sound of swords clashing at the arena and splashing on the lake. Nico half closed his eyes and watched Will beneath his lashes. Will was dressed in a strange mix of scrub shirt and cargo shorts with flip flops. Will inhaled deeply, causing the scrub top to tighten across his broad shoulders, and exhaled slowly. Will turned to Nico. "Hey, Nico." Nico opened his eyes and looked up at Will's smiling face. "Can we talk?" He glanced around. "Maybe somewhere private?" He asked.

A phantom boot of cold dread stomped on the butterflies leaving Nico feeling sick with fear, though he did his best not to let it show."Uh, sure. I guess we can use the Hade's cabin." He unfolded himself from the step and loped toward the dark forbidding building in the distance. "What's going on?" His voice was flat and calm even as his heart hammered in his chest.

"You'll see," was all Will answered.

Nico opened the door and cringed. He hadn't gotten around to making any changes to the décor yet and the interior still had the look of a cheesey vampire movie, complete with coffin like bunks and red velvet sheets. To make matters worse, the floor was strewn with castoff clothing including a couple pairs of boxers which Nico tried to discreetly nudge under the bed with his foot. In a corner of the room a sheet was still tacked around the bed where Hazel had stayed. Nico leaned against a bedpost and crossed his arms. He looked at Will, eyes narrowed with suspicion. "So are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

Will closed the door and gave Nico a weak grin. "Sorry for all the secrecy, I just don't want to make an ass out of myself in front of everyone so I figured it was better to keep things between the two of us." There was a pause. "Are you at all interested in me, because it's fine if guys aren't your thing. I just don't want to waste my time if that's the case." The shock must have shown on Nico's face because Will rolled his eyes and groaned. "Don't tell me that I've been flirting with you for a whole week now and you haven't even noticed." Nico was still in too much shock to answer. "Seriously, you were completely oblivious the whole time?" He asked exasperated.

Nico smirked and uncrossed his arms, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Sorry. I haven't exactly had much experience with flirting. I've been a bit busy saving the world recently and my previous social life was a bit more anti than social. I guess I'm just not the kind of guy that picks up on subtle romance."

Will rolled his eyes again. "Okay." He moved so fast that Nico didn't have time to process what was happening. Will grabbed Nico's shoulders and pulled him towards him, unbalancing the smaller boy. Nico's hands flew out of his pockets as he stumbled and fell against Will's chest. He looked up into Will's face in confusion as Will pressed his lips against Nico's. In a flash, the moment ended and Will let go. Nico staggered back, eyes wide with surprise. He could feel his face grow hot as blood rushed to his cheeks. Will smiled broadly and Nico was reminded of his first meeting with Will's father, Apollo. He had the same smile, it seemed to radiate warmth and just a bit of smug self satisfaction. "So, was that clear enough because if not I think I would need to get your consent before I can give you another clue."

The blush on Nico's cheeks grew deeper. "I think I've got it," he muttered, awkwardly. "And you're not wasting your time, I like you too," he hastily added.

Will nodded. "Good. In that case why don't we meet up after weapons practice later for some quality time not surrounded by the wounded. Oh, and just to be clear, it's a date."

Nico smiled shyly. "Sounds good."

"Cool. See ya then." With that Will turned and disappeared.

Nico's lips tingled. He flopped backward onto the mattress and rubbed a hand over his burning face. He was such an idiot. How could he not have noticed that Will was flirting with him? And why did he feel so humiliatingly embarrassed by a kiss that he'd imagined several times now, if he was honest with himself. Even as he asked himself , he realized that he knew the answer. It was his first kiss. His first real kiss anyway since kissing your sister on the cheek definitely didn't count. He idly wondered if Will had somehow known before considering that to be a stupid question. He had to know. He could have guessed as much easily in any case. Will knew how anti-social Nico had been until recently and he'd spent all of his recent time either with Will in the infirmary or at camp get togethers. Nico folded his arms under his head for a pillow. Maybe things really were changing for him. Maybe he really could be happy. He'd dared to hope that things were looking up, especially after Jason and Reyna hadn't rejected him after finding out his secret. His hopes had been further bolstered after he'd told Percy about his previous crush. It had amused him a little to see Percy so flustered at his admission and he'd gotten a high five from Annabeth too. Still, it was hard to be entirely optimistic. He wanted to be, but it was a struggle. After all, he'd been through so much pain, anguish, and heartache that it seemed impossible for anything good to last. He'd try not to think about what could go wrong though. He was a child of Hades. He knew how brief life could be, particularly for demigods. As he'd told Hazel, a second life is one thing, making it a better life was the trick. He resolved himself to making every moment count. How could he be happy if he was always waiting for the world to come crashing down around him?


	2. Chapter 2

Nicos's thoughts were interrupted by knocking. He pushed himself up and went to open the door. Percy and Annabeth were standing outside. Things had been a lot less tense between them these days. Occasionally a turn in conversation or an innocent remark would still make Percy shift uncomfortably, earning him a punch in the arm from Annabeth or another reassurance from Nico himself that things were good between them and he didn't have those feelings for him anymore. The two had grins plastered across their faces. "Hey! We're heading over to the rock wall for a climb, want to come?" Percy asked. Nico considered. He could use the exercise. He'd spent most of his time recovering and helping Will out the past few weeks. He'd only just gotten back to weapons practice. It'd be a good idea overall to get back into peak fighting condition, especially since you never knew when you'd be attacked.

He shrugged. "Sure." He fell into step with his friends as they made their way down to the field where the rock wall stood.

Annabeth gave him a sidelong glance. "So what did Will want?" She asked innocently

"Huh?"

"We saw him leaving the Hades cabin when we came to look for you. It's the only reason we didn't check the infirmary first. I mean, you've been spending so much time there lately. We figured if there was someone visiting your cabin you must have been there instead. You like him don't you?"

Nico was caught off guard. "What?! I mean... yeah. I guess." He stammered.

Annabeth smiled triumphantly. "I knew it! You always get a look when you see him."

"I do not get a look!" He argued.

"Do too. I think that's great! You two would be so cute together."

Nico blushed again and stared at the ground as he walked, his hair hanging down to hide his face. "Can everyone tell but me?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Nico sighed. "Will just... he kind of... asked me out just now. On a date actually." He admitted sheepishly.

Annabeths eyes widened and her grin grew. In her excitement she punched Nico playfully in the arm. He flinched. She hit a lot harder than anyone would expect, even when playing. Percy winced in sympathy. Annabeth bit her lip. "Sorry."

The corner of Nico's mouth twitched up. "No problem. Whats a few bruises between friends?" He joked. He turned to Percy, "I feel sorry for you, she's vicious."

"You have no idea," Percy chuckled, earning him a glare from Annabeth.

"Anyway, that's great! You did say yes, didn't you?" She asked.

Nico rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yes, I did. Why do you care so much anyway?" His voice was tinged with suspicion.

"Because we're your friends," She chided. "And we're happy for you."

"So what kind of date is it?" Asked Percy.

Nico shrugged. "He didn't say." He sighed heavily and stopped in his tracks. "What am I even thinking? I've never been on a date in my life. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or how to act or anything. What if I mess it up?"

Annabeth stood in front of Nico, put her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Just be yourself Nico. Will's not expecting anything more than that, count on it. You have to stop worrying so much. All that negative stuff is all in your head. You'll be fine. I promise." She hugged him and the three campers headed off again, Annabeth on one side of Nico and Percy on the other each with an arm around his shoulders. The rock wall loomed ahead, a massive stone edifice three stories tall. At irregular intervals lava erupted to ooze down the rock face and catch climbers off guard. They stopped a few feet away and Annabeth and Percy broke away and began to stretch. Nico stared up at the steep, treacherous monolith. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms above his head. There was a twinge in his bicep. He rubbed it idly, feeling the knotted scars through his tee-shirt. He wondered for a moment if he was pushing himself to hard to fast before brushing it off. As a demigod you had to be ready for a fight at any opportunity. A slight pain from his battle with Lycaon was nothing worth paying attention to. At least they were healed now. They'd still been raw and burning with pain when he'd entered the fight against Camp Jupiter to save Camp Half Blood and defeat Gaea. "Race you to the top," Annabeth challenged.

Percy grinned. "You're on!" The three friends lined up at the base of the wall. Annabeth counted down, "3, 2, 1, go!" and launched herself at the wall with the two boys hot on her heels. She found handholds easily ad quickly propelled herself upward. Percy ad Nico were slower to start, making sure their grip was sure before moving on. Still they managed to close the distance between them and the daughter of Athena.

They were nearly two thirds of the way up when Nico's foot slipped. The rock bit into his fingers as he scrambled for purchase and regained his toe hold. A shout from Annabeth made him look up just in time to see the lava flow that was headed straight for him. The lava was moving faster than it seemed to from the ground and he knew it wouldn't be as easy to avoid as he'd thought. He frantically reached out with his right hand, feeling for a new hand hold. He found a small protrusion and held on for dear life as the lava came ever closer. With his grip secure, he swung his right leg in the same direction. His foot scrabbled against the stony surface only a couple of times before he managed to wedge the tip of his sneaker into a crack. Annabeth and Percy were climbing toward him even though they must have known there was nothing they could possibly do to help.

Nico could feel the intense heat on his arms and face now. If he waited any longer it would cover his hand and he'd really be in trouble. He tightened his grip and let got with his left hand. As he did, he pushed off the cliff face with his left foot. For a brief moment he hung there like a door hanging open on it's hinge. The lava now floed freely over the space he had once occupied. He reached up with his left hand to find a grip and cried out as his right, moist with sweat, slipped. He heard Percy and Annabeth shout after him as he tumbled to the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the impact. It never came. As he fell, a warm gale blew up below him and carried him gently to the ground. It swirled around him and in the breeze, just on the edge of hearing was a voice. "Be true to your heart, son of Hades." And then it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Favonius.

Percy and Annabeth were nearly to the ground now and they leaped off the wall and rushed to Nico's side. Annabeth punched him in the arm for the second time that day. "Ow!" Nico rubbed the sore spot on his bicep where he was sure there'd be a bruise by tomorrow.

"You aren't supposed to fall off, idiot." He voice was shaky. She pulled him into a hug. "You're just lucky you're ok or I would have had to kick your butt for being so stupid." Typical Annabeth. If you made her worry about you and feel her wrath. She let go and jabbed at him again for good measure.

"What just happened?" Percy asked.

Nico shrugged. "Climbing isn't my strong point. I'm a lot better below ground than above it. Or did you mean your girlfriend threatening bodily harm if I were injured?"

Percy shook his head. "No. I meant the flying thing. When did you learn to do that?"

"I didn't. I wasn't flying. I think..." he though of what to say. "I think an old friend wanted to help me out." He didn't need to explain everything to them. I can still have some secrets, he decided.

"Cool. So you never have to worry about falling?" He asked.

"Something tells me this was a one time thing." People were starting to converge on the rock wall and stories were being passed around. Nico didn't feel like being the center of attention and knew that if he hung around he'd end up getting and earful from Chiron so he excused himself and wandered off to be alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Later at lunch he sat alone at the Hades table. He'd already heard bits of gossip floating around camp of his antics at the rock wall. Of course, it had been highly exaggerated. Nico ate quickly . He could feel the eyes on him. When he looked up, kids would suddenly look away or whisper to their friends while stealing glances at him out of the corner of their eye as though he couldn't see. It made him uncomfortable. He'd never liked being the center of attention unless it came to fighting. It was the one thing he had any real confidence in. Unable to help himself, Nico glanced at the Apollo table. Will met his gaze. He smiled and waved at Nico. Nico looked away, embarrassed. He didn't know what to feel at that moment. His heart felt like it was fluttering in his chest, but he still found himself uncomfortable at the thought of other people knowing that there was something between them. He was fine with his friends knowing, but he wasn't sure yet if he was ready to share who he really was with the rest of the camp. He hurriedly stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and strolled away from the dining pavilion to escape the stares.

He hadn't gotten far when he heard someone call out to him. "Hey! Wait up." Outwardly Nico groaned, but inside his stomach was doing flips. He really wished that would stop. Nico turned around. Will jogged to catch up. His golden hair shined in the sun. He wore a goofy smile. "What's the rush Sunshine?"

Nico grimaced. "Don't call me that."

"But it's cute. And you could use a little sunshine."

"I don't do cute."

Will's smile grew. "But at least you could do with some sunshine. Good thing I'm around."

Nico groaned. "What do you want, Will?"

Will wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulders and began walking."I was just thinking, why wait til later for our date? We could just go now. No one will miss us for a few hours."

"Now?!" He tried to come up with an excuse to say no but failed. Mentally he cringed. He wasn't ready for this. He was barely even open about his feelings yet, and now he had no time to prepare himself. He would be a nervous wreck. His stomach was twisting into knots with anxiety, but he would be damned if he'd ever let it show."What do you have in mind?" He asked.

Will smiled warmly. "Nothing in particular. I figured we could go somewhere and just be alone for a little while and talk. You know, like a normal getting to know you kind of thing."

"Yeah, actually I don't know. Anti-social remember?" He replied sarcastically.

Will sighed. "Yeah, we need to work on your social skills. But what do you say?"

Nico smiled. "Sure." Will led Nico into the woods that surrounded the camp. Nico smiled "I hope you aren't really just dragging me out into the middle of the woods to take advantage of my innocent nature, Solace," He joked. Will' stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Nico. His face was bright red and he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. Nico laughed. Will deserved some payback for this morning. "Is everything ok Will? You're looking a bit flustered." Nico laughed again and walked away.

Will closed his mouth and caught up with him in a couple of strides. He glared at Nico. "Very funny, Death Boy."

"Do NOT call me Death Boy." Nico warned.

"Or what? You'll glare at me to death? You can't use your powers yet, Doctors orders."

"I don't do orders," he glanced at Will who was still a bit red in the face and his tone softened. "But I suppose I can deal with a request this once. Besides, I have no desire to fade away."

Will smiled. "Glad to hear it Nico, because I really do want to get to know you better."

Nico shook his head in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I obviously like you, doofus."

Nico ignored that. "But why? What have I done that anyone would care about at all? I'm nobody. Percy is everyone's golden boy. I'm nothing compared to that. Even Percy didn't trust me half the time."

"Why are you comparing yourself to Percy?" He asked genuinely confused. "I mean, yeah, he's had a few quests and fulfilled a few prophecies, but what's the big deal? It's not like he could have done any of that alone. He's always had someone to help him. How many times have **you** helped him?Percy is overrated, way to full of himself. You're much more interesting. You've got that dark, brooding, mysterious thing going. I like that. If you ever tell Percy I said this I will deny it, but you could take him in a fight easy. Being able to control water is nothing when your opponent can shadow travel and summon zombie hordes, not that you can do any of that stuff for a while," he added.

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. I know my limits. Maybe I pushed myself too far during the battle for the camp, but I knew what I was doing. It was just more important to stop the war between the camps and destroy Gaea at the moment than it was to worry about whether or not I'd be able to come back from it."

As they walked shoulder to shoulder Will brushed his fingers against the back of Nico's hand. "Well I hope next time there's a battle you put self preservation a little higher on your list of priorities. There are some people here at camp who'd be upset if you went and got yourself killed."

Nico's chest tightened. He'd never thought of himself as being important to anyone before. He'd always thought more of everyone else than he did of himself. Somewhere deep in his soul a spark flared. "Just because I'm a child of Hades doesn't mean I have any desire to die. Some things are just worth fighting for and If I can do something to help I will."

Will looked grim. "I know. Being a demigod, it's not easy and it's definitely not safe. I'm not much of a fighter but I know that I'll still fight when I need to and I'll be on the front lines to help anyone I can; I just want to know that you'll try not to die."

"In that case, I'll do my best not to die." Nico smiled. He looked up. They had ended up at Zeus' fist. No one really went near it much anymore. It had become a spot to avoid since the campers fought the Titans army at the entrance to the Labyrinth that was concealed by the outcropping of stone. Nico walked to the base of the Rock formation and sat on the ground with his back against the rocks. He dug his heels into the sandy dirt and rested his forearms on his knees. Will sat cross-legged beside him so that their shoulders were touching. "At least I know I'll have the best medic in camp around to save my life if I do something stupid."

"Only so I can kick your butt for it afterward." They both smiled.

"So what's your story, Solace? You probably know more about me than I know about you. Then again, I've never really bothered getting to know people. How long have you been at camp? I remember seeing you at the battle of the Labyrinth, but I wasn't really around much before that."

"I've been here about 5 years, since I was 12. It was... crazy. I never knew my dad and my mom never told me much about him. I didn't know that I was a demigod until she brought me here. That's usually how it goes though. I guess it's pretty hard to explain to a kid. Who would believe it? She lives in Austin. I don't really see her much anymore." Will grew quiet.

"Why not?" asked Nico gently. He might not be a social butterfly, but if there was one thing he was good at reading in people it was sadness and pain. Will wasn't saying anything, but Nico could tell that the conversation had dredged up some bad memories.

"It got too hard to go back. I couldn't take care of her anymore." He laughed bitterly. "She was diagnosed with early onset alzheimers. That's when she brought me to camp. She wanted to make sure that I could take care of myself because she knew that she wouldn't be able to; she knew that there would be things I wouldn't be able to fight on my own. She was managing for a while, and I would go and stay with her during the school year but now..." He trailed off. "Sometimes it seems like a bad joke. I'm a son of Apollo, god of medicine, and my mom has to be the one to end up with something I can't fix."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Will pulled himself together and put on a cheerful demeanor. "But that's life. You can't fix everything so I just have to do the best I can for the people I **can** help. I'm kind of glad that I inherited Apollo's gift for medicine and not his gift for music or archery. I can do a lot more good as a doctor."

He sounded happier though Nico knew that the sadness would always be there underneath. Still, he seemed to be able to shield himself from it. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, Solace. How do you manage to stay so positive?"

"I'm the son of the sun god," he said. "I can see the bright side of things. There's always going to be sadness, but there has to be happiness too or else what's the point? Maybe that's why I like you. I can see the bright side of you."

Nico scowled playfully. "I don't have a bright side."

Will beamed at Nico. "There's always a bright side, sunshine." Nico glared at him but Will ignored it. "You act so dark and brooding, but I know there's more to you than that. You're empathetic. You say you don't care about anyone, but you do. If you didn't you wouldn't have risked your life to bring the Athena Parthenos back. You wouldn't have stood with us against the Titans. You can fool everyone else, and maybe you can be a bit scary when you get worked up, but deep down, you're still the dorky overexcited little kid that came to camp." Nico opened his mouth to argue but didn't get a chance. "And before you even say it, yes you were. I remember. You talked to anyone who would listen about how cool you thought everything was."

Nico smiled sadly. "That was a long time ago. A lot has happened."

Will became more serious. "I'm sorry about Bianca. You two seemed close."

Nico shrugged. "She was all I had for as long as I could remember. I took her death hard. I've accepted it though. Not all deaths can be prevented," He said remembering his fathers words. "I have Hazel to think about now, even if I don't see her often. It's funny. Technically she's older than me, but I still feel like her big brother" he mused. "Anyway, there's been a lot more to deal with than losing Bianca."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Nico was tempted. He'd spent a lot of his time holding things in. He'd never really trusted anyone enough to share his pain before so he always internalized it and let it eat away at him. He knew it would be cathartic to talk with someone about things, but he was hesitant. "I don't know." He said. "There's a lot of pretty unpleasant stuff in my past."

Will leaned into Nico and put his arm around his shoulders again. He rested his cheek against the top of Nico's head and said, "I don't mind."

Nico absentmindedly twisted the ring on his finger. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Bit by agonizing bit Nico slowly unloaded his pain. All of the miseries that had built up in the past 4 years came to the surface and were finally released. He told Will about running away from camp, afraid of his power and blaming Percy for Bianca's death, of his fathers disappointment in him, of Bianca's refusal to speak to him, of being manipulated by Minos and his own father. He talked about finding out about his mothers death and how Hades had destroyed all of his memories of her. He talked about feeling isolated and out of place, of hating himself for being gay and the pain of seeing the boy he thought he loved with someone else, and the fear he felt as he faced Cupid and was forced to reveal what he'd considered for a long time to be his darkest secret. He recounted the pain and misery of Tartarus and his capture by Gaea's agents, his battle with Lycaon and his fear that the shadows would consume him as he struggled to bring the Athena Parthenos to camp. Nico seemed to shrink into himself as he spoke. Will held him tightly, a reassuring pressure, a reminder that he needn't rely on only his own strength to hold him up anymore. When Nico became silent Will kissed the top of his head and whispered a hymn to Apollo. Nico looked up at him quizzically. "Will smiled and spoke softly. "A hymn of healing. They don't do much for psychological wounds, but maybe if we're lucky it can at least help to keep the demons from your dreams."

Nico's dark eyes had a faraway look to them and they were shining with unspilled tears. He looked away and sat, staring at his shoes. His voice was quiet and his words heavy as he spoke."Will, there's something else I need to tell you."  
"You can tell me anything," He said.

Nico shuddered as he inhaled deeply. "I'm serious. It's about something that happened before the battle for camp half blood. Something unforgivable." Nico's tone was suddenly grave. Will pushed himself up and sat waiting with his hands folded in his lap. Nico took another deep breath to steel himself for what he had to say. "I killed someone Will. I'm a murderer, a monster. You shouldn't be here with me." His eyes never strayed from the ground between his feet. Now the truth was out and he was too afraid to see the look on Will's face.

Will began to brush him off. "If this is about what happened to that Octavian creep..." he began and then stopped. "Wait, before the battle of Camp Half Blood?" He asked. Nico looked even more dejected and miserable than Will had ever seen him. "I think you need to tell me exactly what happened from the beginning."

Nico never moved as he related what had happened. His voice was dead calm and quiet. "It happened after the last shadow jump I made with coach Hedge and Reyna. We ended up at a mass grave in Buford, South Carolina. It was weird. I couldn't sense the dead. It was a mass grave for slaughtered revolutionaries and I couldn't sense anything from it. I was talking with Reyna and then everything went wrong. There was a guy, Bryce Lawrence. He'd apparently been kicked out of Camp Jupiter for having some serious psychopathic tendencies, but Octavian had reinstated him and sent him to find Reyna so he could bring her back to New Rome to face trial for some trumped up charges. He was a legacy of the god Orcus, god of oaths. It gave him the power to command the souls of the soldiers that had committed the massacre. That's why I couldn't sense anything from the grave. The slaughtered soldiers were buried there, but that particular spot wasn't under Hades dominion. It was an ambush. He commanded the souls of the oath breakers to capture us and I had no power over them. Bryce was threatening to torture coach Hedge to death, he threatened to tell the senate at Camp Jupiter that Reyna killed her father. He was gloating about wanting to see her execution. I couldn't help myself. I lost control. I don't even remember most of it myself. Reyna and the coach had to tell me what happened. I let the darkness out. All the pain and misery I'd kept locked away surged through everyone in the clearing. The soldiers holding us dissolved, the temperature dropped, the ground opened up. I... I commanded that Bryce would forget who he was. That he would be a ghost with no name, and even though he begged me to stop, I let the underworld swallow him. He's dead, Will. I killed him. I can't deny that, and I'm not sorry about it either."

There was a brief silence. "Nico, as a healer I am sworn first to do no harm."

"I know..." Nico began, his voice little more than a whisper.

"But," Will continued, "I can't uphold that oath if it means sacrificing the innocent or the people that I care about. I've seen you fight. Whenever you've been pitted against other demi-gods you've always fought honestly. You never go for a killing blow. You aren't a murderer. You defend those you care for, you fight for those that can't. Sometimes bloodshed can't be avoided. I understand that. I have no doubt that if he'd threatened you, you wouldn't have killed him unless he made you. But he threatened your friends. That was his mistake, because we'll all fight to the death for the ones we care about. I don't blame you for what you did. And I don't think it makes you a murderer."Nico let what Will had said sink in. All of his fears and secrets were out in the open now and Will had accepted all of it. Will smiled and Nico leaned against him, comforted by the contact. They sat together for a while longer, neither one speaking, until Will stood up and held his hand out to Nico. He pulled Nico up and they walked hand in hand back to camp. As they approached the edge of the tree line Nico pulled his hand free, to Will's disappointment, and they went their separate ways. The rest of the day seemed to pass quickly and before long he found himself lying in bed and thinking about Will. He'd enjoyed the quiet hours spent talking and being held and fell asleep to the memory of Will's arm around him. For the first time in a long time, he didn't have nightmares.


End file.
